What doesn't kill you: A collection of drabbles
by kcpiratey05
Summary: A series of unrelated drabbles within the Pirates Universe. Mostly J/E, but I might throw some other ships in here too.
1. Chapter 1

**What Doesn't Kill you...**

Jack had been pacing his cabin for hours waiting for Elizabeth's return. She'd gone ashore with three of the crew to retrieve a map from an old friend of Jack's. Old nemesis was the actual truth of it, thus him having to stay aboard while she ventured to meet said nemesis.

He desperately didn't want her to lead the land party. He would much rather have had Gibbs take care of it, but Gibbs was synonymous with Jack Sparrow and she wasn't likely to be recognized, she'd argued. He couldn't find enough evidence to refute that fact so he was left with no choice but to let her go.

Suddenly there was a clamoring on deck and Jack burst out of his cabin. He scanned the group anxiously and relief quickly flooded his veins when he spotted her in all of her triumph. Map in hand, she'd walked toward him, grimacing slightly. She never liked him to fret over her, so he pretended not to notice and gathered her into his arms, thankful she'd made it back at all.

"I was beginning to fear the worst." He said pressing his lips to her cheek and ushering her back to their cabin.

"You doubted me?" She asked him teasingly, but clearly struggling with each step she took.

"Never. It's the other three that leave much to be desired." He smirked back at her, watching her movements carefully.

She gave a small laugh and stumbled into the cabin, gripping his arm for balance. She looked as if she was about to faint. He held her up against him. "Are you all right?" He asked looking into her eyes with more concern than she would have liked.

"Right as rain." She answered with her chin lifted. Though the pallor of her face told a different story.

He looked at her through a lidded gaze and she fell against him, unable to hold her stance any longer. Looking down, he noticed beneath her now opened coat quite a bit of red spreading through her tunic. "You're hurt." He observed angrily.

"It's nothing. Just a scratch." She said in her delirium

Jack scooped her up and carried her over to the bed, laying her down as gingerly as possible. Pulling out his knife, he ripped her shirt open and found an angry and seeping wound on her left side. "You've been run through!" he scolded. "What the bloody hell happened?" He screamed at her.

"I was lightly stabbed, lightly." She whispered with closed eyes. "Apparently, I'm not as anonymous as I once was."

"I should have gone with you." He said bending over her, his palm cupping her cheek.

Her eyes snapped open, annoyed with him for demeaning her efforts. "And you'd be injured right along with me, or perhaps dead." She said through gritted teeth, paying a quick glance toward her stomach. "It's not as bad as it seems. Surely you've had worse." She said shifting beneath him with a wince.

"Be that as it may…"

"Just patch it up and pour us some rum, would you? I don't have the energy to argue. We have the map and that's all that matters." She commanded bringing her hand to his.

"My stubborn Bess. What am I to do with you?"

"I'd like very much if you'd take care of this gash and stop your fussing." She urged him again. "Unless you'd prefer me to bleed out all over the bed?"

"I _have_ been known to have the odd fetish or two." He said, raking his gaze down her svelte form.

"Jack." She admonished.

"Oh, all right." He said getting to his feet to finally tend to his wounded wife.


	2. She's a Pirate

_"_ _My soul is clean. I've never killed anyone. But you. Oh you. Look at your hands."_

Jack couldn't believe the words coming out of the young Turner's mouth as he listened to the lovers' row from behind the rum cellar door. No shortage of judgement from the lad, that much was certain. Elizabeth had made a valiant attempt to defend her choice in sending Jack to his death, bringing to light the sometimes necessary measures a pirate must take, but William battled back with blunt honesty. The young blacksmith was no killer and he certainly was no pirate.

Jack snorted to himself at the whelp's self righteousness, but as he considered it further, he slowly realized the validity of the boy's statement. Many of the battles in which they'd fought together had been against decidedly _un_ dead creatures. Jack himself couldn't vouch for what transpired while he was in the locker, but he was starting to get a sense that maybe the lad had spoken truthfully.

Elizabeth had no retort to give. Her fiancé was one insult short of deeming her a monster and could no longer look her in the eye.

 _"_ _Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"_ Will asked incredulously of her as she stood with a blank stare, wringing her hands together. The tone of his voice made Jack shudder right along side Elizabeth. The amount of anger and moral superiority dripping from his mouth was alarming. Jack wanted nothing more than to clock the sorry sod. Besides, _he_ should be asking her that question, she'd killed _him_ after all, not Will.

 _"_ _I'm not sorry,"_ she said familiarly through gritted teeth.

 _Well, at least she's consistent, Jack thought._

 _"_ _Not sorry?"_ Will snorted with the shake of his head _. "You two deserve each other,"_ he added under his breath.

 _"_ _What is that supposed to mean?" she screeched._

 _"_ _Why don't you ask Jack? I'll bet he has every idea what it means."_

 _"_ _You think I love him?"_

 _"_ _Don't you?"_

Her silence rang louder in that hold than canon fire and Will turned on his heel, heading back toward the deck.

Jack could hardly contain the smile that had crept upon his face.

 _"_ _Will, wait!" she called after him and he spun so abruptly she almost fell backward down the steps._

 _"_ _Please, Elizabeth. Don't make this any harder than it has to be. You're a pirate. It's time we both started to accept that, among other things."_ He left her with that and she collapsed on the steps with her head in her hands, quiet sobs bouncing off of the wooden planks.

Jack debated for a few moments whether he should stay hidden and approach her later or just have out with it and admit he'd heard the whole exchange.

 _Never miss an opportune moment, Jackie._

"He's not wrong, you know?" Jack sang as he sauntered from the shadows, a quick decision made.

"Gods, Jack!" she exclaimed, startled by his sudden presence. "You were listening?!" She asked incensed.

"Rather hard not to. In my defense, I was in the cellar before the two of you started yammering on." He leaned casually against the pillar opposite her with one leg crossed over the other.

"Hell, it doesn't matter, does it? I'm damned along with the rest of you, what secrets do I have to hide?" She kept her eyes trained on the planks in front of her.

"Plenty, I'm sure. You've just never been very good at keeping them from me, but I promise to take them to the grave. I've already done it once, so you know it's true."

"Very funny," she said sardonically, finally raising her eyes to meet his. She felt herself melt in that instant. They hadn't had proper conversation since retrieving him from the locker. The guilt still heavy upon her chest as she took note of the lines around his eyes, wondering how long it had been since he'd slept. "I am sorry, Jack." Her voice had softened to barely a whisper.

"No, you're not," He answered her stone faced. "Don't cheapen my death by lying about it," he scolded.

"No." She got to her feet, feeling emboldened by his apparent acceptance of her deviousness. "You're right. I'm not, but I am sorry for tricking you."

"No, Lizzie, you're not sorry about that either." Jack moved toward her slowly.

"No?" she asked quizzically, noticing the distance between them closing. There was a brief moment she wondered what he planned to do with her.

"I told you before, there are no secrets between us. In fact, I'd say you'd like to trick me again, right here, right on this deck, right…"

She silenced him, pressing her lips to his clumsily as she stumbled down the steps. He caught her and wrapped his arms about her, pulling her to him with all of the strength he had left. He deepened the kiss, practically stealing the breath from her lungs in the process. When they broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered with a widened grin, "Pirate."


End file.
